Art and music are two of the most vital and fun cultural anchors in the Big Easy. They’re a big part of why travelers flock to New Orleans, pairing well with the city’s always-exciting culinary and cocktail evolutions. For one of the city’s newest hotels, supporting locally made art is a cornerstone of its mission. And it’s marking its first anniversary in time for the 47th annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in April.

The Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery is the newest of the eight Provenance Hotels, a Portland, Oregon-based company whose properties integrate art that complements their local context.

At the Old No. 77, that artistic intent manifests in a few ways. For starters, it’s in the Warehouse District—some call it the “Arts District”—and three blocks from the gallery row that is Julia Street.

Before its doors officially opened, the hotel partnered with New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA), the city’s creative-arts high school whose graduates include Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr., and Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet. Students and alumni were invited to submit works to decorate guestrooms and common spaces. Not to leave out good writing, the hotel stocks the school’s literary magazine, UMBRA, for guests to enjoy its poetry, fiction, and essays. They can also buy a souvenir copy, with proceeds benefitting NOCCA’s creative-writing program.

Another artistic collaboration is between the Old No. 77 and Where Y’Art, a “curated art community” of painters, sculptors, craftsmen, and jewelry designers. Their works adorn a display area inside the hotel that serves as a satellite gallery of the outfit’s Marigny outpost.

Over Jazz Fest, happening April 22nd through May 1st, hotel guests can round out the cultural-heritage experience with the “Art of Travel” package. With it come accommodations and a $100 credit toward a Where Y’Art purchase; while upgrading to a higher rate and credit includes a personal consultation. The “Sweet Art” deal throws in a pair of tickets to the nearby Contemporary Arts Center, the massive, multidisciplinary center that’s supported Louisiana artists and presented their work since 1976.

“If there is one thing we are passionate about—besides great food and good times—it’s celebrating the creativity of the artists and makers here in New Orleans,” says John Price, the hotel’s general manager. “There are so many incredibly innovative artisans here designing clothing, jewelry, housewares, and more that we love to connect our guests with.”

The 167-room hotel itself is imbued with heritage of a different sort. It channels the building’s industrial roots with interiors of exposed brick, high ceilings, hardwood floors, and furnishings with midcentury-modern elegance. Cajun treats like Zapp’s chips, Swamp Pop, New Orleans Famous Pralines, Zydeco power bars, and regionally distilled spirits are stocked in each room.

Courtesy Provenance Hotels

More than a century ago, the four-story building served as a chandlery that sold supplies from canvas to rope to candles for ships heading out to sea. The warehouse once held the address 77 Tchoupitoulas Street (it’s now at 535 due to street renumbering), and the Old No. 77 Hotel conjures that legacy with a modern-day Chandlery selling art and “locally made provisions for modern travelers,” says Price.

“Art is everywhere—from the Chandlery to the Art-o-Mat, a repurposed vintage cigarette machine in the lobby that dispenses small original works of art,” he says.

On the ground floor, Compère Lapin is the much-buzzed-about restaurant helmed by Chef Nina Compton. The Top Chef: New Orleans runner up melds her native Caribbean-Creole expertise with New Orleans culinary tradition and Gulf Coast ingredients. Her debut menu helped earn her the 2015 “Chef of the Year” crown by Eater New Orleans.

Through its cultural and culinary ties, the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery celebrates New Orleans’ essence, inviting travelers to absorb and even invest in the city’s unique artistic flavor.